Russian journalist deported from Belarus

A journalist of the Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets was deported from Belarus in the early hours of October 26 following his arrest in Minsk on Tuesday evening.

Igor Karmazin had arrived in Minsk to prepare a story about the Belarusian opposition, the newspaper said in a statement.

He was arrested after meeting with journalist Iryna Khalip, wife of imprisoned former presidential candidate Andrey Sannikaw.

Mr. Karmazin was taken to the city’s Partyzanski district police department where he was searched and had his fingerprints taken.

The police deleted all files on his voice recorder and served the journalist with a deportation and a one-year entry ban order signed by Alyaksandr Hladun, deputy chief of the district police department. Mr. Karmazin was warned that that he could be imprisoned for up to thee years for violating the ban.

When reached by BelaPAN, Andrey Savinykh, spokesman for the Belarusian foreign ministry, said that Mr. Karmazin had arrived in Belarus without applying to the ministry for accreditation beforehand. "It means that he was on a private visit here," Mr. Savinykh said, adding that in accordance with national laws, all foreign journalists are required to obtain accreditation to work in Belarus.